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Go green at home By Laura Brady
Things have got so bad lately that, earlier this year even George Bush acknowledged that: "It's in America's interest to diversify its energy supply having been too long dependent on foreign oil". But before It's no surprise, therefore, that green themes are now central to the government's new housing initiatives. Back in December Gordon Brown pledged to undertake energy audits on existing homes and work with the financial services industry to offer low-interest loans on homes that meet certain green criteria. All new homes, he added, must be built as zero-carbon by 2016. And buyers of the majority of new experimental green homes will be exempt from stamp duty for a limited period. So while there has long been an ethical and environmental argument for living in a green home, there are now financial incentives too. Eco-friendly homes An eco-friendly home is likely to have certain features such as high levels of insulation to keep in heat, big windows to let in lots of daylight, renewable energy sources like south-facing solar roof panels or wind turbines, energy-efficient heating systems and water collection facilities such as outdoor water-butts. However, an eco-friendly house is not the same thing as a carbon-zero home that, by definition, must literally generate the same energy as it spends creating a net 'zero emission' of carbon dioxide. The vast majority of existing homes are simply not built to achieve this state - however environmentally-aware its occupants. So where can you find an eco-friendly home? Greenmoves.co.uk is an online broker for green homes, either from developers or private individuals. There is simply not enough housing stock of this kind, says managing director and eco-home assessor Julian Brooks. "The vast majority of the 5,000 green homes for sale in the UK are new-build and even these tend to be restricted to the South and South East of the country as well as limited to certain developments." One such development is Linden Home's Fusion which is based in Woking, Surrey. All 154 homes come with rainwater butts, high insulation and heat-transfer (or 'positive') ventilation systems as standard. Some have the added feature of solar panels and outdoor heat pumps that bring warmth up from the earth through a pipe. If 'property developer' and 'saving the earth' sounds like a contradiction in terms, take comfort from the fact that developers are very closely monitored by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and the government alike. "This year a new government standard called the Code for Sustainable Homes will come into effect which is very focussed on carbon reductions," says Brooks. Build your own Alternatively, you can build your own eco-friendly home completely from scratch. According to a recent survey from self-build mortgage lender, Standard Life Bank, 28% of people rated 'helping the environment' as one of the most appealing aspects of a self-build. "Self-build allows you to personalise your home to your own eco-friendly values as well as your lifestyle and tastes," says spokesperson, Ashley Ramsay. While lenders such as Norwich & Peteborough, Nationwide and the Woolwich all offer self-build mortgages, the Ecology Building Society will only lend on self-build projects that provide an ecological payback. But when it comes to ethical mortgages in general, you don't have to be 'green extreme' to qualify. Norwich & Peterborough offers a 'carbon neutral' mortgage which plants 40 trees on the borrower's behalf over a five-year period. The loan is available on new-build homes that score more than 100 out of 120 in the lender's energy ratings survey. Existing homeowners will be given a free survey and £500 cashback to put towards green improvements. Even if you don't intend to move, there are changes you can make to your existing home. "The cheapest job is to fit better insulation to the loft and around the hot water cylinder. You will recoup this expense in a matter of months whereas it could take three to four years to recoup the costs of new windows and doors," says Julian Brooks. "It might take five years for a new energy-efficient boiler - that uses wood pellets instead of gas for example - to pay for itself." Payback for more extreme measures such as fitting solar panels could take seven years while investing in a photovoltaic (solar-panelled) tank that generates its own electricity could take 20 years. "At this point, improving the eco-efficiency of your home becomes a really tough nut to crack as people move every four years on average anyway," says Julian Brook. "This is why incorporating green features into new-build property is so crucial." Greener future It's still early days, but the cost of green units and appliances is falling, while their efficiency is going up. And what's more you may qualify for funding. The Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) low-carbon buildings programme, which is managed by the Energy Saving Trust, issues grants to homeowners wanting to make major improvements to their home with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. Before even applying for a grant however, householders must have installed the regulatory minimum loft and cavity wall insulation (270mm). See lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk for more details. But perhaps the most prominent government move towards a greener future for homes is the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) that will form a mandatory part of Home Information Packs (HIPs) when they become law in August this year. Carried out by a qualified Home Inspector, the EPC will rank properties on a scale of A to G in terms of their energy-efficiency. A government consultation at the end of January also recommended that the EPC should be attached to estate agent's particulars. "After all, this is the point at which people make decisions about changes to the home and the cost of carrying them out," says a spokesperson for the Communities and Local Government. "It will also give them an idea in advance of what their energy bills could cost." The ins and outs of an Energy Performance Certificate Qualified Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors will be responsible for awarding Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) on all properties before they are marketed for sale. They will assess the following features of a property: Double glazing thickness Number of windows Cavity walls Heating system (type and efficiency of boiler) Fuels used Loft and hot water tank insulation Fixed lighting Ventilation Outdoor features such as water butts The EPC, which is likely to be around seven pages in length, will then rank a property on a scale of A to G. By virtue of the type and age of building, it will be impossible for a Victorian terrace to be ranked an A for example, while this would be the expected score for a new-build green home. Whatever the score, the EPC will also recommend changes to the property that would improve it. Offset your carbon footprint: visit PURE
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